Essential Question: Why is it essential to defend Human Rights?

Is it easy to defend your rights? Not always. It takes a lot of strength and determination to challenge rules, beliefs, or ideas that you think are unjust. Throughout history, people have been denied certain rights or have been treated poorly because of such things as their religious beliefs, ethnicity, background, or the color of their skin. While these struggles are not proud points in history, great leaders have emerged who took a stand and became a voice for the people. These men and women risked everything to defend their rights and the rights of others, and they did not back down until change happened.

In this Grade 7 unit, your students will explore the importance of defending human rights through accounts of real people and characters in a variety of texts that include fiction, narrative nonfiction, informational texts, and speeches. The unit begins with an excerpt from Mother Jones: Fierce Fighter for Workers’ Rights, which highlights the demonstrations and crusades against unfair child labor practices of workers’ rights activist Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, whose “march of the mill children” made headlines at the turn of the twentieth century. Other selections share stories of great defenders of human rights, including a biography of the young Harriet Tubman, a poem honoring labor leader and civil rights activist César Chávez, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, and Nehru’s eulogy for Mahatma Gandhi. Throughout this unit, students will explore human struggle, determination, and the fight for human rights.